Page 1800 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 2 May 2012
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There is no doubt that business, governments and economies that do not adapt risk stagnation, and we cannot allow ourselves to be constrained by outdated ideas such as the ones put forward by the shadow treasurer. On the eve of our centenary is the time to embrace some new ideas to boost growth, innovation and investment.
The government are committed to creating an environment in which the private sector can thrive. We are committed to market-based policies and actions to broaden employment, business activity, growth and investment. The strategy I launched earlier this week has three straightforward goals: jobs, economic growth and diversification. We achieve these goals by creating the right business environment, by boosting business innovation and by supporting business investment.
In developing a new strategy for our second century, it is important to recognise the success of existing policy and programs. The foundations that are in place are solid. It is also important to link business development with the government’s vision for sustainable growth and to provide leadership and support for clean technologies. This is a point I will return to later. Importantly, though, the heart of this strategy is around support for small and medium sized enterprises to allow them to grow and innovate.
As Ms Porter indicated in her opening remarks, the government understands that running a business is not easy. That is why the core of this strategy is a desire to make it easier to do business in Canberra. In simple terms, that means simplifying our tax system, lowering taxes, cutting red tape and, importantly, making it simpler and quicker to deal with government.
As I have announced, the June budget will include a cut to payroll tax that will give the ACT the most competitive payroll tax regime for small and medium sized enterprises in the country. During the consultation process in the development of the strategy, businesses expressed concern about regulation. This is a legitimate concern, and the government is happy to work with business in the context of national, state and municipal level regulation reform that is occurring through COAG and is appropriately occurring within the territory.
We know that at times working with government can be complex, and to address this we will establish a single entry point for business interactions with government. We are committed to the implementation of the Australian business licensing system, and will create a single account to complete and submit returns and reports to all ACT government agencies. We will also establish a government-navigated program to make it easier for small and medium enterprises to connect with relevant expertise inside government. And we will support Canberra’s new and growing generation of entrepreneurs through mentoring advice and, where appropriate, seed funding.
Canberra is a great place to do business. It is important that the ACT government promotes and encourages investment here in the territory. With this in mind, it is time to refine and broaden our message through the creation of a new Canberra brand. But unlike previous failed attempts—we have all felt the power of those—this brand needs to be an authentic representation of what Canberra stands for: its values, its reputation, its culture, particularly in relation to our support for a knowledge economy.
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